From the depths of the Covid-19 ridden back streets and alleyways of New York City a new pustule of aggressive, angry music is being lanced. Flaunting the shelter orders, young enthusiasts are flocking to basements, abandoned warehouses and sewer pipes where makeshift sound equipment rattles agonizing guitar riffs and menacing drums. This is the birthplace of Plague Core.

Festering Stool, lead singer of The Covidiots, describes it this way:

“You know how there was Proto Punk and it was dumb? And the there was Punk and it was dumber. Then there was Hard Core, even dumber. And Straight Edge and Crust Punk? Well this is way dumber than all of those!”

Plague Core is centered around a nihilistic philosophy exhalting death by the plague. Bands like Bobby and the Bobules thrash out ear splitting tunes like “I Wanna Be Intubated” and “Infection Erection” while the crowds roll around on each other licking and spitting as they “slime dance” in what is called a “mush pit”

The Plague Core scene is totally libertine in it’s attitude; full of sex, crime, drugs, and violence.

“We figure it’s all fucked after this anyway so why not go out slimy?” says Johnny Hocker, a scene regular. “We don’t take any shit from the maskers and the home-stayer squares. We don’t want anybody telling us what to do no matter how right they are!”

Plague Core is catching on despite attemps by authorities to stop it.

“We’ve see an huge spike in Plague Core shows early on but that seems to be leveling off in the city”, Police Chief Abner Newsome. “However we’ve noticed it spreading outside the New York area into neighboring states and especially in the south. We’ve tried to alert officials of the looming dangers if this thing is allowed to spread but they seem oblivious.”

“We tell them they’d better start making preparations now or this thing is going to overrun them. But they don’t listen. “

“Fuck ’em.”